Various Artists - 'High Voltage: Full Charge' (High Voltage) Released 20/11/06

Manchester label High Voltage Sounds are back with their latest compilation ‘Full Charge’. It features a breadth of talent from the dubious charms of pop funksters The KBC and Leeds rockettes Dead Disco. The gloom filled jagged basslines of Snowfight In City Centre’s ‘Listen’ has a sweet naïve edge that sounds like a younger Placebo. Following the slightly maudlin theme ‘The Hold Up’ by The Answering Machine sings of break ups and bitterness with voices that sound ready to crack.

Taking cues from The Arctic Monkeys and The Fratellis The Jakpot sing with a discernable northern brogue on the likable sing-a-long of ‘Fickle’. There’s mix of local scenesters like 4ft Soldiers formulaic guitar romp ‘Scars’ and Yorkshires own Blondie style band Dead Disco. On ‘The Treatment’ they create one of the standout tracks of the album, in a similar vein to Wale’s Hot Puppies it’s undeniably catchy.

The Clerks decamped from Paris to Manchester to record their brand of edgy indie pop on debut ‘The Dissidents’. Redcarsgofaster traveled from the less dizzy heights of Leicester to infiltrate High Voltage with their sultry harmonies and choppy guitars on ‘Micro’. With a reputation for digging out local talent like stars of previous compilation ‘Power Overload’ Liam Frost and The Longcut High Voltage are a mixed bag. Modernaire’s ‘Faites De Jeux’ is refreshingly quirky slice of euro electro pop that at times would sound at home on Smack The Pony.

The style shifts again to all out emo with the gentle heartbreak of ‘It’s Hot As Hell In Martirio’ by The Maple State, a song that was practically created for The O.C. The Headlines take a step back in time sounding like clones of 80s legends The Cult on ‘A Long Process’.

Sheffield’s Run Hide Survive  round things up nicely with the glam funk ‘Together Again’. Lone Lady provide some welcome relief from the rock with powerful acoustic lament ‘The Forest’. As an example of local talent on offer there are some promising things to come.